Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-11-25
BETTER DEATH THAN CAPTURE.
A Vermont soldiers Run for Liberty-In-
cident of the Fight ut Charlestown.
Va, August FL, 81.


cident of the Fight ut Charlestown.
Va, August 81, 81.
From the New York Tribuncl
If you wish it I will tell you the story of
a beautiful Sunday morning, August 81,
1854 % years ago. | was soldier then,
younger than a good many others, but
yet Il veteran. We were encamped near
Berryville, in the Shenandoah valley of
Virginia, only a little way from CHARLES
town where John Brown was hanged
We had gotten everything ready for the
usual Sunday morning inspection, and /
was just admiring an ambrOtype, received
in that mornings mail, of my little sweet
heart-yes, she is my wife now, bless her
and we have grown up daughters older
than she was then-when we were sur
prised to hear the not very distant report
of a cannon and the next moment shell
whstled over our heads, through the tops
of the chestnut and oak trees of the beauti-
full grove where we were encamped. In
moment every mans knapsack was slunp
and we We're in line of battle | don { re.
member to have heard any command the
men instinctively and quickly took their
places and waited for the next movement
of the enemy. We could see that they
were driving in our cavalry pickets ut
| lively rate, and expected to see their
infantry column show up at any
moment across the meadow in our front
Il shall never forget the feeling of
what may be called eXutation with
which | watched, thinking what glori
Gus change was before us from the bunt-
ing of our heads against the enemy's
works, as we always had done in the
Army of the Potomac. Here we were in
an open field where we could see what
was before us. Well, we didn't have to
wait for them. In a few moments our
gallant old Vermont brigade was ordered
to charge and re establish the line the
enemy had 50 suddenly driven in, and the
duty was quickly ana thoroughly per
formed. My own regiment, the 81 Yer
mont, sometimes called Smiths chick
ems because ! suppose they thought our
colonel, W. +. Smith, odd Baldy,' rs
we called him, rather favored us
While he commanded the second
division of the sixth army corps and the
| Gtn Vermont were deployed as skirmish-
ers, and III our advance across the fields
We came to ledge of rocks that we could
/ not see until we reached it, as the meadow
extended to It's very top and we found an
| almost perpendicular descent for 20 or 30
feet THIS compelled the line to break to
| the right and left to get around 1t, and
| When we came tOo ether, some 20 rods per
! hnDS in front, there seemed to be a gap
| between our line and that of the 9th.
| Sergt lngleson of company +, of the 9th
/ happened to be on the left of his regiment
! and myself on the right of my own. We
| were both old friends from the same town
| III Vermont, and You may be sure we were
/ pleased to find that we two just filled this
/ gap in the line.
IAN advance f a few rods brought us
/ to d little Clump of three or four small
chestnut or oak trees, where the farmer
had piled up few rocks, picked up on
/ tn meadow. They made an excellent
| little bleastwork, and as the line did not
advance beyond this point we quickly
took advantage of it. About 10 rods or so
| in our front was a stone wall and along
tnis line two or three trees stood at inter
walls of few yards Behind this wall
| there appeared to be rebel line of bat
tie, and we were kept busy until | found
my last cartridge in my rifle, when turn
! ing to Henry | said
"'Ilen, my last cartridge is in my gun
| How are you fixed p
"'EXactly the same, Abe was his
CHEEKY answer, and then looking down the
line To see where more ammunition could
be mad discovered that our skirmishers
y had been ordered back and We're on the
ridge formed by the ledge of rock some 80
rods to our rear and that the ezemy :
! line, on eacn side Of us had advanced till
they were nearly even with US on each
side, bowed out in our front where our
close fire had compelled them to keep
far enough to give us the benefit of flank
fire. Turning to my friend ! said For
| heavens sake, Henry, look at the line y
\ glance was sufficient We both saw at
once our desperate position. | began to
tighten mp my wastbelt and knack.ack,
when Henry said:
What are you going to do, Abe ?
! Pm going to get Our of here
"'But they will shoot you the moment
you show your head above those rocks
IAN right, Hen, that's better than An
Jacksonville. Pm going to try it,
"'Well, Abe, it's sure death, and | will
not risk it,
"'Well, Hen, here goes and shaking
his hand with such a grip as carried my
heart with it, | said good bye and taking
my rifle at IA trail sprang out and ran the
| gauntlet around that ledge of rocks.
"'Halt, you Yankee - --n rang
out from dozen rebel throats, and their
| shots | suppose followed their voices, for
| noticed that one of them had split my
canteen and spilled all my water when
got where had time to drink. Curiously
enough, not shot hit Inc and as ] went
over the Iedgethe 'Johnnies cheered about
as loudly as my comrades at my fortunate
escape or my splendid exhibition of speed,
| couldn't tell which Capt. Bennett, of
my company greeted me with;
"'What - little fool you were to
take that risk but | laughinglg told him,
as had poor lngleson, that it was better
than Andersonville, and the sparkle in
his eye told me he thought so too.
Sergeant lnglesOn had just recovered
from bad wound in the leg received at
the battle of the Wilderness, so that it
was impossible for him to make the run,
and he was taken prisoner and sent to
! AndersonVlle, where he remained till
Sherman made his "march to the sea- -
when he was released, and with a lot of
other prisoners sent West to the Missis-
sippi river, where they took transport
to come North. 1t seems that somehow
the gallant sergeant had saved little
money that he had with him when he was
captured, and when he got aboard this old
transport he took = state room and went
to bed. Daring ii he night somewhere in
the neighborhood of Memphis, the old
death trap struck 4 snag and sunk. Every
man in the S aterOoms was drowned.
have on several occasions seen my brave
friends name among he missing May
: be this will clear up the mystery of his
fate il ii has not already been done by